Category Archives: Railways

Rolling blog. Tilford tales, day 4…

27 Wednesday Sep 2023

Posted by in Hampshire, Photography, Railways, Rolling blogs, Surrey, Travel

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07:20

We’ve settled into a routine here now. Up by 06:30. Drink coffee, get ready for the day, take Sam to school, then Dawn and I go our separate ways as I get dropped off at the station to disappear on the 08:58 for the day. Today’s another such circuit, but where will I get to this time? Feel free to keep popping back to find out…

09:00.

Here’s the daily pic from the rear coach of the 08:58. Different faces today but loadings are pretty good.

09:20.

I’ve abandoned the London service at Aldershot to do what I did yesterday and swap to the Guildford service which follows behind. In contrast to yesterday it’s a grey old day this morning so the camera’s remained in its bag. I’ve a lunch appointment later but I’m wondering what shots I can get in the interim – and where.

11:02.

I ended up staying at Guildford for an hour due to ‘events’. The first thing I noticed was a track gang busy cutting down Buddleia and other plants in the station yard. Not the sort of thing that would attract any interest from railway enthusiasts (several were there for other reasons) but for me they’re excellent library shots to have to illustrate the railway’s story. A few minutes later one of the few remaining pairs of SWR Siemens Class 707s put in an appearance. Grist to my mill but the enthusiasts were uninterested.

Why? Because they were here for this. A steam engine!

West Country class No 34066 ‘Braunton’ puts in an appearance at Guildford whilst working a London to Bath excursion.

15:50.

Apologies for the gap but I’ve been busy. Having travelled via Woking to Winchester I bumped into Dan, a CRN colleague who caught the train to with me. Dan gave me the background on what to expect when we arrived at Shawford. Even so, I couldn’t help but be impressed at the transformation of an old station building that’s been derelict for over 40 years. Waiting for us where some of the folks from Hampshire CRP who’ve been the poerhouses behind this and some other staion cafes. I’ll add more details later, but for now – here’s a few pictures.

21:55.

Now where was I? Oh yes – Shawford! Since when I’ve gravitated to London. I’m not staying in Tilford tonight as I have a silly o’ clock start tomorrow. I’m leaving ‘stabiliser rail’ country for the day to meet up with old RAIL magazine friend and colleague Pip Dunn in Peterborough as we’ve some train tests to do.

Having arrived at Waterloo I had the chance to meet up with other old friends. SWR train driver Steve Upton was on a break when I arrived so we went for a coffee (or in my case sparkling water) when we were joined by another of the gang, Hassard Stacpoole. Here’s the three of us together before Steve chauffeured us back to Clapham Junction, where we are now.

I’ve a small favour to ask…
If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course – although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website –  https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/

Or – you can now buy me a coffee! https://ko-fi.com/paulbigland68312

Tilford tales. Day 3…

26 Tuesday Sep 2023

Posted by in Hampshire, Photography, Railways, Rolling blogs, Surrey, Travel

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07:55.

Despite a positive forecast we’ve had a gloomy start to the day here in Tilford, but whatever the weather it’s going to be a busy one. Dawn and I have been occupied from an early hour preparing the ingredients for tonight’s meal – Coq au Vin, done in a slow cooker. Now it’s time to take Sam to school and me to head to Farnham station for another day on the rails before Dee returns home to work. Now, where shall I go today?

09:20.

What a difference a day makes! If we thought the roads were busy on the school run yesterday they were even busier today. Farnham was chocked with traffic which included a lot of builders and other vans clogging roads and pavements as tradesfolk made their livings.

Fortunately, I still got to the station on time to board the 08:58 which was once again worked by a Class 444. This seems to be a regular (and only) diagram for the fleet to Alton. Today the train was far, far busier. I walked through all five cars from front to back. Here’s today’s comparison shot.

The rear coach was the quietest. Up front it was full and standing.

I only travelled as far as Aldershot as I’m heading for Guildford on a service that runs just a few minutes behind the London train. Guildford’s the main town in the area and the platform was busy with folk making their way there for work and pleasure. That said, a 4-car Class 450 shuttling to and from Farnham is perfectly adequate for the traffic.

10:05.

My first stop after changing at Guildford is Farncombe which I’ve never visited before. It has substantial buildings on each platform (pics later) plus one of the few signalboxes left on this line and one I’d never photographed before.

I know nothing about Farncombe but it looks a pleasent little place. Like most towns the shops have suffered. Many are vacant but this one (a real trip down memory lane) caught my eye.

11:45.

On the move again after catching the train for an impromptu stop at a place called Witley which has a lovely small station and a lot of rail engineering work going on – hence my decision to stop for an hour. I managed some great shots of embankment stablisation work being carried out on the live railway (pics later). In the meantime, here’s a shot of the station building.

16:00.

I’m now blogging from St Denys in Southampton. How I got here’s a long story that involved several trains, one or two stops – and Portsmouth!

I’ve had an interesting day as I’ve had chance to stop off in several places I’ve always threatened to explore but never had the time. St Denys is one. It boasts a four platform station (two on the main line and two on the Pompey route) and some rather nice buildings. The stations a stones throw ffom the estuary which is a good place for scenic rail pictures – hence my visit.

This is a phone pic. The camera ones have trains in ’em.

There was something else I discovered in St Denys. A pub right next to the station called the South Western Arms (after the railway). When I walked past it I noticed the selection of handpumps and thought ‘hmm’. Then, when I was finally beaten in my photographic endeavors by cloud cover I thought I’d pop in for a swifty. I’m glad I did as it’s a cracking real-ale pub with a distinctive local hippy/bohemian feel – and a massive beer garden backing onto the railway. I’ll certainly be popping back when I’m in the area.

18:30.

So much to write about but so little time as I juggle taking pictures, notes and blogging whilst still trying to live in and experience the here and now. And right now I’m on a train from Woking back to Farnham…

Q: Guess how many people are staring at their phones/screens? A: 99% of them..

21:10.

I’m now back in Tilford and beginning the task of editing the pictures I’ve taken today. It’s going to take some time before they appear on my Zenfolio website, so here’s a quick taster of some of the camera (rather than phone) pictures.

A pair of class 444s with 444028 leading pass embankment stablisation work at Witley on the Portsmouth direct line.
73962 leads a test train through St Denys. The route was from Eastleigh to Eastleigh, but all round the houses. When I photographed it the train had just come from Portsmouth Harbour.

Here’s the rather lovely main station building at Farncombe.

I’ve a small favour to ask…
If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course – although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website –  https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/

Or – you can now buy me a coffee! https://ko-fi.com/paulbigland68312

Rolling blog. Aylesbury adventure…

25 Monday Sep 2023

Posted by in Hs2, Photography, Railways, Rolling blogs, Surrey, Travel

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07:30.

Well, it wasn’t a ridiculous start to the day. I was up at 06:30 as I don’t need to be in Aylesbury until 14:00, although getting to Farnham to catch the train means I’m reliant on Dawn for a lift and Dee’s dropping her nephew, Sam, off at school first. This may be ‘leafy Surrey’ but the roads around here really aren’t very civilised when it comes to walking. Most of them are narrow and don’t have footpaths, leaving no safe space for walkers. Plus, many people around here are driving the four-wheel versions of tanks, leaving even less clearance. Society here is very much focused around the car. There’s not even a bus service through Tilford.

Feel free to pop back during the day to see what I get up to…

09:00

Having sat in on a Surrey school run it was instructive to say the least. Sam’s school is in Farnham, on a narrow street parallel to the railway line. The street is totally unsuitable for the numbers driving their kids to school (ignoring the no parking signs in the process). Lardbutt SUVs merely exacerbate the problem. It was good to see the number of kids who were walking but far too many weren’t. One thing I did notice, there’s not as many obese kids here compared to West Yorkshire but as obesity’s linked to poverty that’s unsurprising.

Dawn dropped me off at the station before heading home and I’m now sat on a 5-car Class 444 heading for the hour-long journey to Waterloo.

These services were always normally worked by 4-car Class 450s in multiple as the 444s are the ‘intercity’ units reserved for long-distance services from Waterloo to places like Bournemouth and Weymouth, although I do remember seeing them on Alton services in the past. As I’ll be a regular commuter from Farnham this week I’ll be interested to see how the service pattern pans out in practice.

Whilst there’s clearly not as many people commuting daily anymore, the car-park at Farnham was very busy and my trains filling up after each stop. The picture was taken after we left Farnham. I’ll add a comparison shot later.

09:30.

We’re well on the way to London now, the next stop’s Surbiton. We’ve had a ticket check which allowed me to observe that the people around me are all using paper tickets, suggesting they’re not daily commuters.

The change in seasons is evident too. Earlier we passed a ‘leafbuster’ train. The MPV was busy spraying the track towards Alton. The sun’s noticeably lower in the sky too, meaning that (photographically) I have longer, deeper shadows to contend with. Mind you, the forecast is that the Mercury’s due to hit a balmy 23 degrees today, so I can’t complain.

11:30.

I’m now on my way to Aylesbury via the old Great Central railway from Marylebone. Having time in the bank I tarried in London, changing trains at Clapham Junction in order to get a few library shots. The sidings there are full of the ‘new’ Class 701 ‘Arterio’ sets which are yet to turn a wheel in passenger service. It’s arterio sclerosis at it were! I boarded one of the old Class 455s from Clapham, one of the BR built trains that should have been sent for scrap years ago but that are still going strong. At Waterloo I spied my first 5-car Arterio which was out on test, contrasting with the 455s in adjacent platforms.

18:30.

Sorry for the break in blogging but I’ve had another busy day. Having met Ian (from the excellent ‘Ian visits’ website) and EFKB PR on the train to Aylesbury the three of us walked to the EKFB site, chatting on the way. The walk allowed us to see other aspects of the vast site other than the area we were visiting.

Once we met up with all the other invitees and folks from Network Rail and EKFB and having got ‘booted and suited’ we headed off to the main worksite where the new rail bridge over what will be HS2 has been completed and track relaid.

The bridge over HS2 with the HS2 cutting being excavated beneath. This is looking South towards London with Aylesbury off to the left and Princes Risborough off to the right.
It’s a hot day to be wearing full PPE!

I’ll write a bit more later and perhaps add another pic. Right now, having said goodbyes after a really informative visit I’ve walked back into Aylesbury and caught the train back into London.

20:00.

Travelling back into and across my former home town was weird. OK. I’ve not lived here for 23 years, but I never remember it this quiet – even on a Monday. The Chiltern train into Marylebone picked up a few folk en-route with many joining it when it hit the London suburbs but it still felt quiet. I had the same feeling on the Bakerloo line tube. This route passes through what are some of the capitals entertainment areas, but the vibrancy of the old days was missing.

Now I’m at Waterloo which is definitely subdued. It feels more like a provincial rail station rather than London’s busiest terminus.

Where’s the buzz?

Bidding adieu to the capital I’m taking the less direct route ‘home’ via Guildford rather than the Alton directs. I’m aboard yet another ‘Arkwright’ (aka a Class 444).

22:30.

‘Tis the end of the day and time to bring this blog to journey’s end. My route home via Guildford was easy, the trains weren’t crowded and the connection time allowed me to grab a few night shots. Yep, we’ve got to that time of year where it’s getting dark too early for my liking as my working day’s getting shorter, but hey ho. Let’s see what tomorrow brings…

I said I post another couple of pictures before I went. Here’s one of the HS2 trace West of Aylesbury, looking South. Can you sport the new railway bridge I was visiting? Some folk complain that building HS2 is ‘desecrating’ an AONB. Really? So who gave planning permission for those pylons then? In a few years when HS2’s complete you won’t even notice it at this location. Oh, and don’t even mention the sound of heavy traffic from the road behind me…

‘Metroland’. A pair of London Underground S stock trains stand at Chalfont and Latimer station which is shared between the Metropolitan line and Chiltern Railways.

I’ve a small favour to ask…
If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course – although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website –  https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/

Or – you can now buy me a coffee! https://ko-fi.com/paulbigland68312

That went well!

20 Wednesday Sep 2023

Posted by in Hampshire, Musings, Railways, Travel, West Yorkshire

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I’m typing this from Bigland Towers, which is rather unfortunate as you should be receiving this missive from darkest Devon…

On Tuesday Dawn and I were due to drive down to North Devon in order to stay with some old friends who moved there from West Yorkshire a few years ago. It would have been the first chance we would have had to visit them as Covid got in the way before now. Then on Monday we received a message that the pair of them had gone down with a stomach bug so we provisionally knocked the trip back for 24 hours. On Tuesday we found out the bug wasn’t of the 24 hour variety so we reluctantly (but sensibly) decided to postpone our visit until next year due to hectic schedules between now and then. We were all gutted as our friends had planned some brilliant trips such as beach walks and (of course) railways.

Our ‘rain-check’ proved to be eminently sensible in more ways than one as the weather here in West Yorkshire and in North Devon was shocking – and in many points in between it seems. We’ve had torrential rain and gales so driving all that way on motorways would not have been fun at all – especially as we’d planned to do the 300 mile trip in a day. So, we’ve stayed at home, which has been frustrating as the climatic conditions have made it impossible to get much exercise in. I could have gone walking but even with full waterproofs it would’ve been a miserable experience. Instead I’ve been trying to stop the garden blowing away as my Gladioli and other plants have taken a battering. We’re now on day 3 and the weather’s finally changed. We nipped out for lunch with Dawn’s parents over at a garden centre near Holmfirth where I picked up some Pansies to replace some of the summer plants that are past their best. Late afternoon blue skies put in an appearance, the wind abated and the rain finally sodded off. So, tomorrow, rather than enjoying the hedonistic delights of Devon I’ll be at home, repairing the garden and putting up shelves. However, all’s not lost, we’re only stuck here until Saturday, then we head down to Surrey, where we’ll be based for a week – and the weather forecast is looking very promising indeed. I’m hoping I may be able to take the camera for a walk around this neck of the woods on Friday, but we’ll see how much gets done tomorrow…

I’ll leave you with a picture from one of the lines I should be back exploring next week. Here’s the old signalbox at Haselmere station, seen on the 5th July 2017.

This London and South Western Railway type 4 design is 127 years old and listed Grade 2. There are plans to preserve it in situ when the line is resignalled.

The Portsmouth direct line is in the process of being renewed and resignalled. You can learn more about the project here.

I’ve a small favour to ask…
If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course – although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website –  https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/

Or – you can now buy me a coffee! https://ko-fi.com/paulbigland68312

16th September picture of the day…

16 Saturday Sep 2023

Posted by in Brazil, Musings, Photography, Picture of the day, Railways, Travel

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The (alleged) old Chinese curse ‘may you live interesting times’ springs to mind right now. Having returned from Thursday’s national rail awards I’m finding life odd to say the least. Seeing so many familiar faces at the NRA was lovely – as was having time to chat – even though time flew by all too quickly and I didn’t get to talk to half the people I’d have liked to. Plus, the awards felt very much like the end of an era with Nigel Harris retiring, plus other changes that are going on I’m not going to reveal here. The railway ‘Oscars’ felt different this year because the rail industry is in a mess. Not one of it’s own making to be fair, the railways are just another victim of an utterly incompetent Government that hasn’t got a clue what it’s doing – about anything. Forget re-arranging the deckchairs on the Titanic, with this lot you can add musical deckchairs as Ministers constantly change their minds depending on which loon – Sorry, ‘think tank’ or special advisor has got their ear. The sooner we have a general election and this miserable lot are put out of their misery the better. Sadly, the mess we’re in isn’t all down to the Tories. There’s a sickness throughout the UK body politic which means we’re ill-served by the political classes as they just can’t be honest with people – hence Labour’s insistence that you can actually polish a turd and they can make Brexit ‘work’. Oh, and don’t even get me started on the ‘green’ party – a collection of Nimbys who seem to spend most of their time opposing solutions to climate change (solar farms, nuclear power, HS2) as they know they can posture all they like as they’ll never hold power. I should mention that the Scottish greens are an exception to this. They’re a separate party who’re pragmatic, positive and not in thrall to Nimbyism the way their cousins South of the border are. In a lot of ways I’d be quite tempted to move North of the border as Scotland seems to be so more progressive than England. Shame about the weather tho’…

Looking around it’s hard to remain positive about the future of this septic Isle as honesty and realism in politics is about as rare as rocking-horse shit right now. Meanwhile, as many folk who tear themselves away from gawping at TV screens may have noticed, we’re having some really weird weather due to climate change. But what are we doing about it as a nation? Answers on a postcard please…

You may have got the impression that I’m feeling rather cynical at the moment. In which case all I can say is – damned right! I’m normally a glass half-full sort of guy but right now it’s difficult to maintain that perspective. Hopefully, my equilibrium will be restored soon. Whatever, it’s time to think about my own future in a changing world.

Whilst I ponder I’ll leave you with today’s picture. I’ve updated my Zenfolio website with a host of different pictures taken over the last couple of weeks. Follow this link to see which galleries they’re in. Now, what to choose? OK, how about this…

Although I was away for the first couple of months of this year the one thing I didn’t manage was any beach time. I need to put that right on my next trip. Here’s a beach on a very special island few people will have set foot on due to its isolated location. This is Baia do Sancho on the island of Fernando de Noronha off the coast of Brazil, seen on the 19th August 2002.

I’ve a small favour to ask…
If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course – although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website –  https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/

Or – you can now buy me a coffee! https://ko-fi.com/paulbigland68312

Rolling blog. National Rail Awards 2023…

14 Thursday Sep 2023

Posted by in London, National Rail Awards, Photography, Railways, Rolling blogs, Travel

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12:15.

The pair of us are currently bouncing along from Bradford to Leeds on a Northern Class 195 in order to head down to London for tonight’s National Rail Awards, an event I’ve only missed once since (gulp!) 2003. Jeez. Were’s the last 20 years gone?

Tonight will be rather special as the awards host and Editor of RAIL magazine, Nigel Harris, leaves Bauer after 28 years tomorrow so it’s very much the end of an era. Nigel’s an old friend. The pair of us first met as volunteers on the Lakeside and Haverthwaite railway back in the mid 1970s. Then, in 2001 I started working for RAIL as a freelance photographer which brought me to the attention of the wider railway industry. The rest (as they say) is history…

12:45.

We’ve swapped our Northern 195 for some ‘classic’ traction to Kings Cross in the shape of 91111 ‘For the Fallen’

16th September update.

Sorry, I was overtaken by events that evening (literally) so never finished this blog. Despite the awards opening at 17:45 and going on until the early hours of the morning there’s never enough time. There’s so many people to see and say hello to, never mind get into conversation with – and Dawn and I have been privileged enough to have the run of the place and access to the VIP area which is the bar above the Great Hall.

Seeing so many old faces was lovely and (as usual) there was lost of stimulating and informative conversations. The Rail awards really are the railway ‘Oscars’ so pretty much everybody in the rail industry who can be there is. Only this time there was a twist due to Nigel retiring after so many years. Nigel’s co-presenter this year was the always entertaining TV journalist Steph McGovern, a person who has a host of stories and not afraid to call a spade a spade – or someone a tw*t! You should hear her anecdotes about meeting Donald Trump!

Here’s a few pictures from the night.

The VIP balcony. Folk in the rail industry may be able to spot a few familiar faces.
The view from our table as Steph McGovern gets into her story-telling stride…
Sir Peter Hendy was one of the people who bid farewell to Nigel (seen on the right).

I’ve a small favour to ask…
If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course – although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website –  https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/

Or – you can now buy me a coffee! https://ko-fi.com/paulbigland68312

Rolling blog. Southport surprise…

13 Wednesday Sep 2023

Posted by in Railways, Rolling blogs, Southport, Travel

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12:30.

The surprise is I wasn’t meant to be going to Southport today at all! I was meant to be working at home. However…

This morning I went to my wardrobe to dig out my Tuxedo ready for tomorrow’s National Rail Awards. I knew it’d still fit so I’d left it to the last munute as usual. My lastminute.com behavior is the bane of my wife’s life but that’s another story. So, you can imagine the scene as I’m ruffling through my collection of clothes but can’t find it. I’d lent it to my brother in law in Southport last year and could have sworn I’d collected it earlier this year. Surely, I hadn’t left it on a train? Five minutes of frantic ruffling (it must’ve looked like a Tom and Jerry cartoon scene) established that it was nowhere to be found. One worried phone call to my sister established that it was actually still with her in Southport. So, here I am, on the 12:02 from Sowerby Bridge to Manchester, sheepishly heading to Southport to collect it!

Still, it’s a nice day for it and I can do some work on the way/way back…

13:15.

Rather than changing trains at Victoria I opted to travel to Salford Central and have a look at the refettled platforms. The station was closed for several weeks for an upgrade which has seen the platforms resurfaced along with other cosmetic changes that reflect its growing importance due to the massive changes to the area it serves. Forty years ago the station was surrounded by abandoned goods yards which had become temporary car parks. It was a depressing place. Now it’s full of high-rise residential blocks, multi-storey car parks and new offices. It’s quite a transformation.

The 13:12 to Southport calls at Salford Central, worked by a former ‘Thameslink’ Class 319 converted to a bi-mode Class 769.

13:45.

Having bolted to Bolton under electric power we’re now burbling to Wigan on diesel. The problems with changing over power that used to bug these units seem to have been ironed out.

17:30.

Well, that was a mixed day. I’m now on an ex-East Midland Railway Class 156 from Southport heading back to Manchester. I had time to kill in my old hometown as my sister didn’t get home from work until after 16:00 so I mooched around the town centre near the station. It’s a sad place nowadays. The impressive old Victorian Chapel St station was a real gateway to the town. It was demolished in the late 60s early 70s, to be replaced by an unattractive shopping centre with the truncated station hidden behind it. Even the shopping centre’s looking sad. It lost it’s flagship M&S store a few years ago. Now it’s losing one of its other staples – Wilko, which shuts in 5 days time. I had a quick look around and whilst there were some bargains there was nothing I could carry and it’s not what I was in town for.

Not many bargains left…

Moving on I had a look at the old Cambridge arcade which led from Chapel St to Lord street past another old flagship department store which closed. Talk about an air of dereliction!

To be fair, part of the arcade roof is being restored, but many of the the shops sheltering beneath it have closed.

I elected to walk up to my sisters as I could shadow the railway to get a few pictures en-route whilst viewing places I grew up in. It was all rather sad. I passed a former shoe-shop where my parents took me to buy my school shoes. The father and son who ran it until recently have both gone now and the shop with its iron and glass canopy has been turned into this.

That’s progress I suppose. The world has moved on from local shops to the internet and small businesses are struggling. That area used to be a thriving shopping village but all that’s left now is a few fast-food and booze shops, although one business has at least tried make the place look attractive and welcoming rather than just being a car-park.

Cars have had a huge impact on the character of the town. So many houses have what were attractive front gardens when I was a kid turned into hard-standing for cars. It’s both ugly and unsustainable but the council seems all too happy to let it happen.

Having picked up my Tux from my sisters there was one last and very unexpected surprise in store for me. As I entered Meols Cop station to catch the train I heard a voice shout ‘Paul’ from the shelter. It’s once in a blue moon that I bump into anyone in Southport from the ‘old days’ but I recognised the face immediately even though I hadn’t seen him for over 30 years. It was the eyes – and the hair (lucky barsteward!) This was a lad called Wayne whom I knew in the 1980s. Only he’s not a lad anymore! He was there with his teenage son who must have been about the age Wayne was when I first met him! Talk about a blast from the past!

22:30.

I’m home and relaxing after my impromptu trip to the seaside. My last surprise of the day was catching the train from Manchester and sitting next to an old acquaintance who now works as a Driver for Grand Central. Kieran had been in Manchester with a Northern colleague so the three of us ended up chatting about the state of the rail industry all the way to Hebden Bridge. What an unexpectedly sociable day.

Now it’s time to wind down, so I’ll leave you with a couple more pictures from today.

Due to a shortage of working units and with so many already gone for scrap the old 507/508 fleet often works as single sets nowadays. Here’s 508131 at Southport.
The changing face of Merseyrail as the sidings at Southport hold a mix of old and new trains. But not for much longer…
Bi-mode 769456 passes under Windsor Rd footbridge on its way into Southport. This is a scene of decrepitude and decay nowadays. A far cry from how I remember it in its heyday.

I’ve a small favour to ask…
If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course – although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website –  https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/

Or – you can now buy me a coffee! https://ko-fi.com/paulbigland68312

York interlude…

12 Tuesday Sep 2023

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Having been tied up at home recently (not literally you understand) and having had an appointment down in Sowerby Bridge this morning I thought ‘bugger it’ and escaped the valley for a few hours – even tho’ the weather was less than clement. I caught a train from Sowerby Bridge to Leeds via Dewsbury which allowed me a window-seat to observe progress on the Trans-Pennine Route Upgrade (TTU) – not that were huge changes. The most obvious sign that something’s afoot is the amount of new cable troughing that’s sat on pallets by the lineside, waiting to be installed. Well, that and the new stations of course. Morley’s coming along. The old platforms are being demolished and the new station’s slowly gaining a new footbridge with lifts. Farther up the line (or should that be Down the line?) ‘White Rose’ station’s taking shape. I’ll venture out next month to get pictures of progress.

Arriving at Leeds I swapped from Northern to a late-running TPE (surprise, surprise) service to York. There’s TPU work happening on this section too but I’m not familiar with the specifics other than the overhead wires having spread West from Colton Junction to end in the middle of nowhere – for now.

When I arrived at York I found it strangely quiet, although the fact it’s a September Tuesday may have had an impact as there’s bugger-all going on. That said, there’s always something of railway interest, as these pictures prove.

Former East Midlands Trains ‘dogbox’ 153311 is now used as a test train. I managed to catch it in the sidings during its brief layover.
Former Calder Valley class 155 set 155345 rattles the station roof as it rumbles its way to Bridlington. Nowadays, this small class of 7 units are all based at Hull’s Botanic Gardens depot.
Mind the gap. Level boarding is a dream on lots of the railway network, as this shot of passengers detraining from a Blackpool North – York service illustrates.
Grand Central have been having an awful time with reliability of their Angel trains class 180 fleet recently. So much so units have been hired in. Here’s former East Midlands Railway 180110 working 1N95, the 1427 London Kings Cross to Sunderland.

I’ll add these and other pictures to my Zenfolio website shortly. Right now I’m back at home and taking the night off. See you soon…

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Cambridgeshire day 6…

07 Thursday Sep 2023

Posted by in Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, Photography, Rail Investment, Railways, Travel

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Today’s been the last full day of our break here in Cambridgeshire and it’s co-incided with the hottest day of the year. I’d planned for a day out exploring some of the local rail network to keep up with recent changes and also amass some shots for a client so my day began early and I was so happy it did. Unlike previous mornings where I walked out to a blanket of fog, I was greeted by this sunrise when I walked out onto the verandah at 06:30.

Dawn was up early too in order to give me a lift through to Cambridge North, the nearest railhead to where we’re staying. So, within short order I was out at Ely to capture a series of shots like this.

East Midland Railway’s 170513 is seen with the backdrop of Ely cathedral whilst working 1L04, the 06:42 Sheffield to Norwich.

Having exhausted the photographic possibilities at Ely I headed back to Cambridge and on to Foxton where I’d been hoping to catch one of the spoilt trains moving High Speed 2 tunnel boring waste to the nearby Barrington tip – only the bloody thing was cancelled. I hadn’t visited the station for donkey’s years so it gave me chance to update library shots like this – and get shots of the signalbox.

387107 and 387301 arrive at Foxton whilst working 2C16, the 0927 London Kings Cross to Cambridge.

Fortunately, the signaller was fast at unlocking the wicket gates at the station so I managed to hot-foot it across the tracks to catch this service after taking its picture. Back in Cambdridge well ahead of schedule and with the sun literally cracking the flags I caught a bus out to the site of the new Cambridge South station to get pictures of the work progressing.

Thameslink’s 700029 passes the site of the new Cambridge South station whilst working 9S16, the 0914 Brighton to Cambridge.
Looking the opposite way towards the bridge the previous picture was taken from, here’s how work’s progressing on the new Cambridge South station.

By now it was early afternoon with the temperature hitting the low 30s, so I decided to call it a day, head back into Cambridge and enjoy a cold beer with an old friend from 45 years ago. The Old Waiting Room at the station was an ideal rendezvous before I caught a bus out to St Ives to catch up with the Platt’s and get a lift back to the chalet where relaxing and basking in the sun for an hour was preferable to a hot and sweaty trot around the rail network. Normally, I wouldn’t have let that bother me but as it was our last night we’d booked to go out for a meal at a local pub, so having the chance of a shower and change of clothes beforehand was very much the order of the day. Besides, I’ll be back…

Now the day’s almost over and we’re all chilin’ at the cabin after enjoying a lovely meal at the George and Dragon pub in nearby Elseworth.

Belly pork with sweet potato chips and salad. Delicious, but it doesn’t leave any room for pudding!

Tomorrow we begin the journey back to West Yorkshire, although we’ll be making a couple of stops on the way…

I’ve a small favour to ask…
If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course – although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website –  https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/

Or – you can now buy me a coffee! https://ko-fi.com/paulbigland68312

Cambridgeshire day 2…

03 Sunday Sep 2023

Posted by in Cambridgeshire, Musings, Photography, Railways, Travel

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It may be tardy but summer’s finally arrived. We’ve had great weather all day here in Cambridgeshire, although looking at the stressed state of some of the local trees I suspect there’s been a lot less rain here over the summer than we’ve had up in God’s own country.

After a leisurely morning we headed over to Ely, a town I’m very familiar with but one the Platt family had never visited before. On the way in I gave the folks a bit of a run-down on local history, including that of why there’s now a Southern bypass due to the number of HGVs that used to get stuck on the level crossing or jammed under the adjacent low bridge. I’d no idea how useful a lesson it would be until we parked at the station and prepared to walk down to the river. All of a sudden there was a hell of a bang and crunching noise from behind the trees masking the road. I knew what had happened straight away. This…

And the moral of the story is – always know the height of your vehicle…

To add to the drivers distress and embarrassment, there was a weeding party a few meters away who were about to board this vehicle. Needless to say, the wedding guests phone cameras were out capturing pictures of the added entertainment. Nice bus tho’…

Walking into town the Platt’s first stop was Costa coffee, which gave me chance to dash to the tourist office for leaflets, check out a few of the sightseeing opportunities and grab a swift pint before we moved on to the Cathedral. You don’t have to be religious or an architectural buff to appreciate the magnificence of Ely cathedral (although they’d help) as it’s truly a stunning building with a fascinating history.

Looking up into the cathedral tower…

The family were all impressed and moved by the building and the atmosphere within it. If you ever get chance to visit – do. I doubt you’ll be disappointed.

Having done our spiritual duties we moved onto more temporal concerns by stopping for a drink by the river Great Ouse at the Cutter Inn which has a great selection of food and drink – as well as great views along the river. We managed to bag a table outside which allowed views like this.

Two excellent forms of transport meet at Ely.

Whilst we were relaxing we were rudely interrupted by this critter above us – which we hadn’t even noticed until it started cooing like it was auditioning for a part in a Cuckoo clock!

Good to see those anti pigeon spikes work. Having seen the way this Dove’s defeated static defenses I can only assume it must be Ukrainian…

Now we’re back at home, relaxing and digesting the excellent coq au vin that Dawn had set up in the slow cooker before we left. Tomorrow we head to Cambridge – another first for the Platts…

I’ve a small favour to ask…
If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course – although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website –  https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/

Or – you can now buy me a coffee! https://ko-fi.com/paulbigland68312